Going to Seminary
As you may have noticed, Kari and I are going to seminary. Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland to be precise. We’ve found a home there, theologically, relationally, and on so many levels. It has been life-transforming and deepening for us. The old joke is that seminary = ‘cemetery’ … but the exact opposite has been true in our first-hand experience. I’ve been challenged in my love for God, love for others, and being a husband and father. Our marriage has been enriched and encouraged. There have been practical applications of deep theological truths. It is truly a unique experience to be in school together, not just one of us. The learning is not mere head knowledge (cognitive), it is reaching the very core of our beings and character (affections). In fact, while we would love to be able to drop all outside work and charge ahead full-boar towards graduation, this season of working and plodding along in school has been a formative experience. We wouldn’t trade it for anything. The degree is not our primary goal; knowing Christ and becoming like Him is our aim.
Our professors, godly men and women, continually challenge and nurture us. Our classes ranges from spiritual formation (development of character, prayer, and spiritual warfare) to biblical survey, from preaching to biblical languages , from pastoral counseling to biblical exegesis. My MDiv program is a 3-yr program for a full-time student (15+ graduate credits per semester), although I’m already at three years and will be half-way done in May. Kari’s Masters of Arts in Pastoral Studies - Women’s Ministry degree is a 2-yr full-time degree. She’s nearly complete with her course work, and then will have another year of part-time internship. As far as we know, she and I are the only full-time couple both currently at Multnomah.
We’ve also found support with our local church family. Among our church leadership only one went to seminary (our senior pastor), yet there seems to be at least a curiosity and in many cases supportive attitude. Others in the congregation wonder why we could be in college with a child. We’re not exactly in ‘college,’ but we understand the puzzling look.
Certainly, going for years to get a Master’s degree that will end up decreasing your earning power seems a bit odd. There seems to be a general disconnect between seminary and the local church (one thing Kari and I hope to influence the opposite direction). Multnomah seeks to impact that trend with their internship program, melding the best of the academy with local churches who want to develop the next generation of equipped leaders. Our experience in my internship has been great. Instead of simply handing me a pile of tasks and things-to-do, the pastoral leadership has rallied around me as mentors ought to, allowing me to watch and learn and ask and attempt and fail and grow. It is not an all-or-nothing proposition, and while we hope for a pastoral position (a job) in the end, the process is worth it. We love the local church and that is a primary reason to be in seminary. We want to see the church become better, all she is meant to be.
One recent source of recent camaraderie has been the new site, Going to Seminary, started by ‘Just a Guy.’ He and his wife and two kids are venturing through seminary, having started this year. Over at that site there various posts related to relevant topics for seminarians, ranging from finances to relationships to spiritual life to advice on how to go about researching a seminary. The comments are helpful too, with a growing readership of current and past seminarians (and others, I’m sure), giving varying perspectives for a unique (niche) group in our Christian population.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:12 am
For some reason that site isn’t working because of bandwidth issues or something. I can attest to the disjunction between local churches and seminary. I wonder how many of those churches realize they probably won’t be around in 30 years if they don’t reach down to a younger generation.